Silk road revitalising cultural tourism and focusing operators at ITB

VeRoTour Promotional Event and Asia-focused operators’ workshop  at ITB

The VeRoTour project, of which UNWTO is a partner, aims to implement a trans-national thematic cultural route linking the diverse heritage that flourished during the reign of the Republic of Venice, also known as the Serenissima.

With a specific focus on small and micro-sized enterprises (SMEs), the project will diversify the thematic tourism offer in Europe by developing trans-national and sustainable tourism products.

The project aims to enhance and implement a trans-national thematic cultural route following the extraordinary and complex system of maritime routes, settlements, defensives fortifications and cultural heritage left by the Venetians under the rule of the Republic of Venetia (the so-called Serenissima) since 1300 and throughout almost five centuries.

The object of the project is to take advantage of the UNWTO Silk Road project to help diversify cultural routes in Europe and to use common heritage sustainably to create worthwhile tourism offers for the benefit of local communities and the travelling public by creating business opportunities in sustainable cultural tourism.

On 6 March, involved stakeholders will convene at ITB Berlin to elucidate the opportunities this project offers for the private sector. For more information, please click here 

Other Silk Road events include the Silk Road operators’ forum …this year’s topic: ‘Profiling Asia on the Silk Road’

Commercial interest in the Silk Road region has grown considerably over recent years, with historical connections between Europe, the Middle East and Asia being re-discovered and revitalized. This is especially true of the Asian section of the Silk Road, a region home to a great number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites which in 2013 totalled 248 million international tourist arrivals.

According to UNWTO’s long-term forecasts on the performance of individual regions, the Asian market will be growing at an average of 5% per year and reach approximately 535 million international tourist arrivals by 2030. Concomitantly, its overall global market share will increase to 30%, cementing, herewith, the tourism sector’s importance for the region in terms of economic stability, sustainable growth and inclusive development.

Taking this into account, the Silk Road Tour Operators Forum will be aiming at the following:

• To assess the performance and profile of some of the destinations driving the region’s growth by drawing on the extensive knowledge and experience of stakeholders operating throughout the region
• To assess how this knowledge and added value can be used to benefit the Silk Road tourism brand and concept
• To build new alliances and partnerships between the public and private sector by giving stakeholders the opportunity to showcase their products and discuss relevant issues

By assisting, interested stakeholders will not only be able to gain valuable insight into dynamic and upcoming tourism markets, but also be able to network and forge new business alliances.

Forum registration and participation:

For additional information and to register free of cost, please visit http://silkroad.unwto.org/event/3rd- unwto-silk-road-tour-operators-forum-itb-berlin-2014 (registration deadline Monday, 3 March 2014)

Valere Tjolle

Latest Sustainable Tourism Report out today, GET FREE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND REVIEW OFFER HERE